Daughter of a poor day labourer. The girl received little education, and worked on a local farm. At age 12 she severely injured her right leg, an injury that plagued her the rest of her life. Even as a girl, Dora was known for her piety, prayer and fasting. Lifelong laywoman in the archdiocese of Utrecht, Netherlands. Visionary. In 1843 she received the stigmata, which would recur many times over her remaining 33 years. All this occurred during the period of the return of the Church hierarchy to the Netherlands, and the re-instatement of Catholicdioceses; there was a lot of anti-Catholic prejudice and agitation in the country, and Dora came in for her share of ridicule and abuse. Her confessor kept a diary of the mystical experiences of Dora which was rediscovered in 1965. Her Cause for Canonization has begun.